Only some people know about my first home buying experience. It was crazy. We lived in Maryland and got orders to Georgia, April 1st.
But wait, we were moving in June. We had to determine our housing situation and quick. Would we live in housing? Would we rent? Was it finally time to buy even though we would only be there for 3 years.
We spent two days in Georgia – TWO! Checked out base housing – NOPE. I wanted to avoid that if possible, not because I don’t like base housing (we were living in base housing in Maryland), but it didn’t bode well for our situation.
The rental market – well that didn’t work well either. All of the rentals that were big enough for our family were $400 over our BAH – ugh!
So we drove down and spent two days from our vacation to look at houses. We looked here, we looked there, yes, we looked everywhere.
We came home with no idea of where we would live. Our agent tirelessly looked. Then – we started Skyping to see houses. However, the video was fuzzy due to the poor connection, and we had to put a lot of trust into our realtor – who is FABULOUS! However, the process wasn’t streamlined the way I would have liked it to be for my anal self.
Enter Revolutionary Tool
Enter Lauren Taylor, a top realtor and creator of Savvy Homes – a home buying portal that connects agents and buyers in a seamless process. It allows military buyers an easier method to search for homes in a number of circumstances, such as when the active duty member is deployed or is a geo-bachelor.
Or in my situation, when you are house hunting from a few states away (or heaven forbid, cross-country).
How, You Ask?
Your real estate agent provides you a list of homes via the MLS in that area. This is usually done by talking with you, the buyer, on your needs, wants, and budget. You then select homes off that list that you would like to see virtually in the portal. The agent then takes video of the property to upload to the portal allowing it to be high definition and yet not worry about internet connectivity. This allows you to see the property in its truest form.
One of the problems buyers have when looking at properties online is that they fall in love with a house based on pictures, the angles, and the staging. However, when they get to the property it is a MAJOR LETDOWN.
Savvy Homes Portal dismisses “wide angle lenses, RD Real photography, and selective angles. Our system is designed to strip homes of these filtered upgrades and allow viewers to experience the home in its most authentic form so buyers can legitimately decide if it’s worth their time or their offer.” 
Once buyers look at the videos, they choose the homes they like and schedule appointments to see those listings in person if needed.
What a GREAT idea, right? Saves time and effort all in one. Many buyers have bought from just seeing the videos.
After all, your agent is creating the video for you – not the seller’s agent who wants to sell the property.
But how will you know if the video is enough? It’s virtual baby! You get virtual goggles, like a cool video game or the commercial with the old man having his mind blown with the newest technology, to see the property. So it’s like you are there viewing the property.
Can I go house hunting again?
Not Just for Buyers
Why would a realtor want to subscribe to a monthly subscription service like this? Well one, if you work with military buyers, heck even international buyers, time is money. Unfortunately, our community does not have a lot of either – so a program that allows us to see everything we need to see from someone we trust as if we were there = $.
Taylor states, “Agents film during standard 9-5 Monday through Friday hours. Agents who use our system work 85% less weekends.” Well if I were an agent, that is appealing, and trust me, I am good friends with an agent who works her butt off.
Not to mention, if you are an agent and you use the subscription, if you record a home for a buyer and that buyer passes BUT another buyer shows interest – you can pass that video on to them. That means you just saved time with a secondary buyer – do you see the ripple effect here?
Check It Out
Overall, I am excited for this new technology – it is cutting edge for our community. I hope all agents jump on board, but feel free to ask your agent if they have heard of Savvy Homes Portal. Want to see how Savvy Homes Portal is the home buying tool of the future, check it out for yourself here.
Warning – prepare to see home buying in a different way!
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About the Author
Kelsey Ramirez is a Real Estate Broker in western Washington. She is also a veteran elementary school teacher, military wife, and mom to two daughters. She is the founder of The Military Move, a military-based website to help families in the PCS process. Kelsey loves to travel, write, and create amazing content. She has her Masters in Technology, which she uses to learn all new things digital.
With three decades of military support, Kelsey’s mission is to help new and existing military families in their unique adventures through all military topics including PCSing, budgeting, school choice and rights, housing, and especially just being a military spouse.
